Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-02-14


She Is to Run Twenty Knots an Hour
ana Fire TOrpedOes q Mile-She Will
IhroW Six Tons Of Nitro-Gelatine in
From the New York Sun.
for more than four years Lieut.. Zalinsh OF the
IS. artillery corps, stationed at Fort Hamilton
mas Deen experimenting with machine Gated the
dyhanlte gun, designed to hurl large quantities
vi any nigh-poWer explosive to a great distance
WIN SaIety and precision. The gun as at last de-
Veloped is long steel tube lined with brass that
Is connected with air chambers in which air is
stored at pressure Of 600 pounds to the square
lncn. Ihese In turn are connected with other
| chamoers where the pressure is twice as great.
Dy simple valves, easily operated, the breech OF
the gun Is opened, the projectile inserted the
pfeecn closed and the compressed air turned in
oehlnd the projectile. The pressure in the gun is
| at first like that of summer zephyr but as the
| pro!ectlle starts on its way the rush increases
until tne power Of the widest tornado becomes as
| nOtnlng, and with below and scream frightful
10 the unaccustomed ear, the shot is made.
Inc prolectile itself is simply copper cylinder
and tailed with long shaft Of wood to keep it end
on me charge in the shell may be exploded by
contact With the object aimed at or by a minute
| eiectrlc battery that is envened by the moisture
AFTER the proJecte has sunk to any reQuired depth
under water. Charge after charge has been fired.
and very frequently 100 pounds OF the explosive
has been hurled to a distance of mile and
quarter and exploded at the desired time.
VI course , such gun as this would be useful
chambers and the machinery for the condensation.
That 1t would be useful on swift steamer, If any,
ments with the gun made at Fort Lafayette under
Ie supervision OF board OF naval experts, was so
for t6 81 hass
iiaIge enough TO go to sea, and to be armed with
three OF these dynamite guns Contracts were
signed with the Cramps last week.
Inc RunDOaG Will have triDle EXPANSION engines
OF the best known design. Their power is guaran-
te eed 70 r oe 300 horse power but Lieut. zansH
develop from $500 to 5000. She will be propelled
by twin screws, thus giving great speed and handi-
speed is guaranteed to be twenty knots, but much
more Is expected. Her length Is $50 feet or about
street added: her width is twenty-sx feet and she
Will draw eight feet OF water Her displacement is
about 500 tons She is very SHARP and has very
shows three guns side by side pointing forward.
They are fired in their places but their range
be varied by increasing or diminishing the charge
| of air let in behind the projecttle An extreme
range OF one mile is put down in the contract, and
the weight OF gelatine to be thrown is 200 pounds
but the guns as now building will throw 400
pounds instead of 2OO and the effective range will
| probably be about two miles.
and power are provided TO enable fifteen shots to
be fired to the distance of one mile without stop
at full speed thirty shells could be thrown before
the air would be exhausted and the cruiser obliged
to turn tail. Thirty shells would mean the explo-
sion OF 1900 pounds OF nitro-gelatine about the
enemy, or quite enough, if the aim were accurate,
to Justify in his mind the title given TO the boat
| by the London Times, 1.-THE most Internal triumph
| of American ingenuity"
designer has followed out the old Idea OF making
| British cruiser Polyphemus is built ON the same
idea, and there are other floating gun carriages.
troll Of the ofricer in the blot house. He has
simply to head his boat for the enemy, dash ahead
at full speed, and blaze away. The trained pilot,
even in the excitement OF battle, would steer his
ship tnstnctvely, SO there would be little trouble
with the aim. except perhaps in getting the range.
But pilots would be as cool as any other gunners,
and could be depended on as wen as were the
gunnerS who used to handle the short powder-and-
ball cannon in broadside firing, where the rolling
| or the ship made the range more uncertain than
that of fore-and-aft gun possibly could be-
Each gun can be fired once in two minutes or the
thr SUCCESSFULLY in two minutes.
The new cruiser has free board Of about four
feet above water. This is quite enough to enable
ner 10 erayei aiong sne coast she car
| an hour. This would take her about 700 miles at
full speed. She could probably turn complete
circle OF radious OF twice her length in between
| two and three minutes She can carry 100 or even
much greater number Of torpedOes with her when
| going on cruise. To show how she compares with
the best of the latest English built torpedo boats,
1t may be said that the Destruttor built for the
Spanish government, carries but ten torpedoes, al
though she has five tubes to ire them from, and
this IS the usual number carried The range OF the
best of these foreign torpedoes is 600 yards under
the IdVOTdUle ana IN
not more than 100 or 200 yards. The exploding
charge Is IS pounds Of gun cotton, an explosive
that Is exceedingly inefficient when compared
with nitrO-g elatine. Z. c. Peck, a London engi-
neer, has recently proposed, however, to build a
sort OF marine rocket, IA feet long, which shall be
| charged with water heated under immense pres
sure so that when valve is opened in the stern Of
the torpedo the water will fly out as steam and
rush OFT z, 500 yards, ii wind and weather do not
prevent. He proposes to use 100 pounds OF gun
cotton for destroying the enemy. No more power
ful device than this mas ever been proposed by for
Gig n torpedo makers.
The new cruiser will be armed with the usual
rapid Hiring guns which are placed on foreign tor
pedo boats t, These are TO be used In battle with
craft like herself and small boats. Men are at
work On her now in Cramps yard and she can be
built in six months.
1t is conceded that this boat is not enough to
DEFEND the coast from a great enemy. A fleet
OF them would not take the place OF great ships
an auxiliary tighter, Lieut. Zalinskf says she will
be success. 1t Is believed that IL simple rubber
bag tied by skylarking boys to the cut water of
the BRUSH cruiser GarneJt In New York harDor
martialing the officer OF the deck and severely
punlShlng the men on watch, the presence OF
Meet or boats In this port, or even one capable
or throwing 4OO-pOund charges OF dynamite
q mile away would make even the tronclad
Brltlsher wary OF running in, say without
pilot.
Lieut. Zalinsli has drawn the plans of a pro-
tected cruiser with curved steel deck from i've
10 ten inches thick, that would necessarily be
struck at an angle by the prOjectile OF an enemy.
snip even II struck by the ordinary torpedo with
1OO.pOund charge OF gun cotton. The armament
OF this cruiser will be battery Of guns throwing
shells holding halt ton each of the high-pOWer
explosive.
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